Database Trends and Applications – June 2005

Databases are critical to ongoing business operations. They house the information vital for payroll, inventory management, and most importantly, customer relations and satisfaction. No matter the size of the company, its data resides in a database, and it should be properly administered.

Databases are getting more complex. Dealing with that complexity requires special skills. A company needs to ensure that its data is safe from loss or corruption. In a typical retail application, companies need to know what the gross sales are by store, by the hour and also at any given moment what product was sold and what is left on the shelves -- huge changes from what was possible just a decade ago.

In the Database world a new breed of Data Base Administrators (DBAs) has evolved into RDBAs. Instead of hopping into a car, or flying on a plane, this new Remote Database Administrator looks for the nearest Internet Café, orders a cup of Java and goes to work.

To meet the growing demands of business today, products like Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle keep adding additional capabilities, including replication, mirroring, and security enhancements...and the list keeps growing.

Also, the physical size of the databases is growing exponentially. Companies expect a wealth of information and capabilities from their systems in addition to 24/7 availability. Effective database administration means keeping up with all these technology changes.

A business needs good information to make sound business decisions. Proper resources must administer it. Imagine trying to buy inventory without know what�s in the warehouse or on the store shelves, or trying to cut a payroll check after you have lost the payroll data. Good, reliable information is needed to make good business decisions, and this information is stored in the business's databases.

Data is an asset that needs to be protected. Properly back up a database. More importantly, in a crisis you must be able to restore that information from a backup correctly. Enter database administration.

Unfortunately, when it comes to knowing how to properly backup and restore a database, small and medium businesses often rely on internal resources that don�t have the proper training or tools. Important things are easy to forget or overlook that can prevent the backup from protecting information, one of the most important assets a company has.

Database security is a complex, fast-moving target that requires on-going and well thought out administration. There have been in the last year a number of well–publicized compromises of security, resulting in the personal information of thousands of consumers ending up in the hands of hackers. Imagine what an impact such a breach could have on your business, including the loss of your customers' trust. To ensure security, database software needs patched and updated on an ongoing basis. However, updating a database properly is not as easy as downloading and installing the latest patch on your PC. Dealing with security issues and patches can get very complex very fast.

Proper database security administration requires experience and an up-to-date knowledge of threats and update processes. Careful planning and testing must be done before updates are applied to protect business applications. But at the same time, move quickly to protect these systems against the latest security threats.

According to Oracle Corp., 75 percent of all its database outages are cause by human error. Consequently, given how important technology is to business, it is essential to have people with the right skills in the right places with the right skills to manage databases. Small companies are often unable to hire a database administrator, either because they can�t afford it or they can�t find one. To meet this need for proper database administration, there are a growing number of companies who provide expert database administration services. For less than half the cost of a full time equivalent, you can get a team of database administrators available 24/7, with the right tools and procedures to ensure that business applications stay up and running.

Michael Corey is founder of Ntirety, A CBE Technologies Co. Michael is a past president of the International Oracle Users Group, author of numerous books on technology and a frequent speaker at technology events all over the globe. www.ntirety.com